Skip to main content
Month-end close is five moves in a fixed order. Chase, approve, close, invoice, reconcile. Do them out of order and you will invoice time that later changes. The whole point of closing a period is that the numbers stop moving.
The example: Northwind Studio closes March. Priya Raman (Project Manager) handles chase and approve. Daniel Okafor (Finance) handles invoice and reconcile. Maya Ellis (Owner) closes the period.

​
Before you start

Plan requirement. Approvals, closing a period, invoicing, payments and exports are all Pro. On Free you can chase and record, but you cannot approve or bill. See Free vs Pro.

​
Who does what

​
The close

1

Priya chases the missing time

Start here, because everything downstream depends on the hours being complete.Open Approvals and look for weeks that were never submitted. Send a reminder to anyone who is behind.Compare expected hours against tracked hours per person. Someone on a 40 hour schedule who tracked 120 hours in a four week month is missing about 40 hours.→ Timesheet reminders · Expected vs tracked hours
If a person is on leave or has left, an Admin can submit their week for them so the month is not held up by one absent person. See Submit on behalf of someone.
2

Priya approves every outstanding week

Work the approval queue until it is empty. Approve what is right. Reject what needs rework and give a reason.Small fixes are faster as an adjustment than a rejection – the entry is corrected in place and the change is recorded.→ Approve a timesheet · Reject a timesheet · Adjustments
Only approved billable time can be invoiced. Anything still sitting in submitted will not appear on Daniel’s invoice, and you will under-bill the client.
3

Daniel approves the expenses

Expenses follow the same shape as time: draft → submitted → approved. Approved billable expenses can go onto a client invoice alongside the hours.→ Approve an expense · Billable expenses · Expense statuses
4

Maya closes the period

This is the step that makes the month final.Closing a period through a date locks every approved entry dated on or before that date. After that, nobody can create, edit or delete time in that range. The lock watermark only ever moves forward, so a later close can never accidentally unlock an earlier month.Close March through 31 March.→ Close a period
Only an Owner or Admin can close a period. It is deliberately a small group – closing is how you promise finance that the number will not move.
Close after approvals, never before. Time that was never approved is still locked out of the range by the close, so it can never be billed for that month without reopening.
5

Daniel raises the invoices

For each client, create an invoice from tracked time. It pulls every approved billable entry that has not already been billed, plus any approved billable expenses.March at Northwind:Bluebird’s Website Redesign is Sarah 40 hours at 100(100 (4,000) plus Jonas 22 hours at 120(120 (2,640). Harbor is Sarah 50 hours at 100(100 (5,000) plus Jonas 70 hours at 120(120 (8,400).Review each draft. Reword line descriptions if the client needs plainer language. Set the due date. Send.→ Invoice from tracked time · Edit a draft invoice · Send an invoice
Invoice numbers are issued in order with no gaps, which is what most tax authorities expect. See Invoice numbering.
6

Daniel reconciles payments against the bank

Work through the invoice list and record every payment that arrived during the month.→ Record a payment · Invoice statuses · Void an invoice
Do not delete an invoice you sent by mistake. Void it. A voided invoice keeps its number and its history, which is what your accountant needs.
7

Priya reviews the month

Build one report for the month and read it before you start the next one.The four numbers worth reading every time:Save the report once and it reruns next month. You can also have it emailed to you automatically.→ Build a report · Saved reports · Schedule a report

​
A close checklist you can copy

​
Common questions

It locks every approved time entry dated on or before the date you choose, and it stops anyone creating, editing or deleting time in that range. It is how you guarantee the month’s numbers will not change after you have billed them. See Close a period.
An Owner or Admin has to reopen the period, or adjust the entries as an admin. Then re-close. If the invoice has already gone out, add the extra hours to next month’s invoice rather than reissuing. See Reopen an approval.
You can, but you should not. The close locks the date range, so unapproved time in that range is stuck and cannot be billed for the month. Approve first, always.
No. Closing is optional. It is worth doing if your hours feed invoices or payroll, because it is the only thing that stops a number changing after you relied on it.
An invoice carries its own currency, and you can set the exchange rate used. See Taxes and currency and Currencies and exchange rates.

​
Troubleshooting

Weekly timesheet routine

Do this weekly and close takes an hour.

Quote to invoice

When the bill is a fixed quote, not hours.

Run a monthly retainer

Closing a month with a recurring budget.

Export hours for payroll

The other thing you do at month end.

Monitor project profitability

Read the month before you plan the next one.